Forbidden Rage
by MorningStorm666
Summary: Characters are aged in their twenties in this story. Buttercup has kept her non-sisterly love of Bubbles secret for a long time, but after a life-threatening battle with Him, her feelings are nearly forced to the surface. After a threatening phone call, another one of Buttercup's emotions begins to surface, one that will take her powers to new heights. RATED M.
1. Chapter 1

**WARNING: Rated M for rape, violence, language, and sexual content. These things will all come into play around chapter 5 or 6, so don't think they aren't there if you only read the early chapters. Please don't read this if you are easily disturbed. My goal is not to offend or disturb.  
DEFINITELY NOT SUITABLE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES!**

Buttercup sat sprawled out on the couch of the Powerpuff Girls' home, physically and mentally exhausted after a fighting a long, particularly harrowing battle against Him the night before. Using his demonic sorcery, Him had been able to conjure up traps that prevented Blossom and Bubbles from fighting or doing anything. Buttercup had been left to fight Him and his minions single-handedly to rescue Blossom and Bubbles from certain death. Not only was she extremely tired today, but she was finding herself feeling anxious and worried after last night's ordeal.

Buttercup felt her spirit lift a bit as Bubbles popped into the living room with her for the first time that day and turned on the TV. It lightened the mood a bit and took away from some of the anxiety she had been feeling.

"Gee, Buttercup, you still look tired," Bubbles remarked caringly.

"Last night," Buttercup paused, groaning and pinching the bridge of her nose, "was probably one of the roughest battles of my life."

"Well, you were amazing! It was one of your best performances I've ever seen in combat!" Bubbles exclaimed encouragingly.

"Thanks, Bubbles," Buttercup replied in a somewhat mumbling manner, "I just did what I had to do while you two were captured."

"That's understandable and you did great, Buttercup," Blossom said, passing through the living room. She must have been listening in on their conversation. "We all have to look out for each other and save each other from danger at times," she added, "It's just basic teamwork, together we can overcome any evil.

Buttercup sighed internally at the benign morale-building statement of the commander and leader. She and Bubbles seemed almost oblivious to the fact that the two of them had nearly _died_ last night. Sure, there were many times where one or two of the sisters were rendered incapacitated and the remaining two or one had to save them, but rarely was death as imminent as it had been last night. Buttercup couldn't shake the image of that horrible… thing. It was certainly part machine. And the rest was part demonic beast? Either way, it was the most fearsome creation of Him's that Buttercup had ever seen. Only through absolute, anger-driven determination had she been able to free Blossom and Bubbles from its grasp and stop Him from laying waste to one of the most populous cities on Earth.

"Blossom and I had lunch together this morning," Bubbles said, continuing her casual conversation with Buttercup, "We figured we'd let you stay home and rest. It was eleven o'clock and you were still in bed. Hope you're not mad we went without you."

"No, Bubbles, I'm not mad," Buttercup smiled weakly, "I hope you enjoyed yourselves. I'm not that hungry, but I might make myself a PB & J in the kitchen then or something."

"Well, actually, we brought you something back from the pizza place we were at," Bubbles handed Buttercup a Styrofoam box with four slices of pizza in it.

"Ah, you know I can't say no to you," she grinned widely at Bubbles, sitting up and straightening herself, ready to eat the pizza.

"Hold on," Bubbles dashed into the kitchen and the next thing Buttercup knew, her pizza was neatly organized on a tray in front of her and she had a can of her favorite kind of soda on the table next to her on the side of the couch that she was sitting on.

"I'm not _that_ tired Bubbles, I could've gotten up and got this stuff myself," Buttercup remarked.

"We owe you one after last night, you can just do the same for me when I save your butt next time!" Bubbles exclaimed playfully. She gave Buttercup a loving little kiss on the cheek.

Buttercup felt her heart lift for a second with pure happiness. This was one of the things she had truly grown to love and appreciate most about Bubbles as the two of them had grown into adulthood. When Blossom or Buttercup wasn't feeling well or were even just tired after a long day of fighting crime, Bubbles would act in a way that was almost motherly, bringing her sister or sisters their meals or bringing them pillows and blankets to make them warm and comfortable. And she would be kind and joyful the entire time and just make you happy that she was there, Buttercup thought.

"Where's Blossom?" Buttercup asked, taking a bite into her pizza.

"Working," Bubbles answered, "It's her turn to monitor the hotlines today and make sure none of our enemies are up to anything at the moment."

As the girls had grown older, their jurisdiction had grown larger. No longer were they just in charge of defending Townsville, their enemies were commonly found to be at large all over the United States and sometimes even halfway around the world. Thus there were now many Powerpuff hotlines and the girls had to work in shifts to keep an eye and an ear on them and prioritize the most powerful threats over the ones that police or military could deal with without the girls' help.

"Oh right," Buttercup said, "Hey can I talk to you about something serious for a moment, Bubbles?"

"Of course," Bubbles replied, "What's on your mind?"

"Yesterday…" Buttercup began, "It was just too close of a call. You guys… that _thing_ had you trapped… I can't get it out of my head."

"We go through a lot of tough situations Buttercup," Bubbles replied, "Since when are you afraid of any monster we've fought?"

"It's not the monster itself, it's the fact that it almost killed you!" Buttercup snapped. There was silence for a moment and an upset look on Bubbles's face before she continued, "Even during the most tranquil times, we risk our lives at least twice a week! How much longer can we keep this up before one or more of us doesn't make it back? I'm not worried for my own safety much, but how could I live without my sisters, especially…" Her voice trailed off before she could continue. She was about to say 'especially you Bubbles!'

But why would she favor one of her sisters over the other? Deep down she knew, but she had always pushed that thought as far from her consciousness as she could. There were many reasons to keep a feeling like that buried. However, seeing Bubbles in such grave danger last night had brought it closer to the surface than ever before. And Buttercup didn't know if that feeling could stay suppressed now.


	2. Chapter 2

There was silence between the two after Buttercup's brief but meaningful outburst. Bubbles should have known, it was still common for Buttercup to mask emotions and concerns through rage and frustration even though she had learned to better control the aforementioned feelings as an adult. At the same time, Bubbles came to realize it was a very legitimate concern.

As a matter of fact, it was the same concern that had contributed heavily to the professor's untimely death just a few years ago. The realization that his girls would be fighting crime their whole life and thus always in danger (even despite their superpowers) had been the main factor that led to a stress-induced heart attack which ultimately led to his death just a short time later. By this time the girls were in their twenties and were legally able to take possession of the house, which they lived in even to this day, but the loss of Professor Utonium was the most devastating thing the girls had yet been through.

Bubbles mulled over this memory for a minute or two before finally thinking back to the present and addressing Buttercup's concern after a few moments of silence.

"Buttercup, you went through a lot yesterday," Bubbles began, speaking slowly, "I can see that you're worried for the safety of Blossom and me, but you just have to remember that if we stick together we'll always pull through these things. I think you'd better sleep on it and after a few days you'll feel like yourself again."

"Okay," Buttercup replied, unsatisfied with Bubbles attempts at comforting her, "Just one more thing."

"Sure."

"Can you and I spend more time together?" Buttercup asked, "Like, just you and me? I mean, I love Blossom too, but… Well, it's okay if you don't want to."

"No, I totally understand and agree, Buttercup," Bubbles replied, "I'll tell you what, I promise you and I can spend more time together from now on. One on one, if that's what makes you happy."

"Sounds good," Buttercup smiled, but she was hiding how happy and excited it really made her feel to hear that.

"Alright, I'll talk to you later, love you!" Bubbles exclaimed in her usual cheerfulness and hugged Buttercup before going off to spend some time on her own in her room.

Buttercup smiled to herself. This was the first step in getting closer to Bubbles. The first step to… She frowned. This was the first step to getting what she wanted. But the relationship she wanted with Bubbles was wrong. Wasn't it?

Buttercup finished eating her lunch and decided to lie down on the couch for a nap. She would figure out what to do with herself and her non-sisterly love for Bubbles later.

The next few days passed rather uneventfully. The only crime to stop was a not-so-noteworthy, rather pathetic attempt to defeat the girls by Fuzzy Lumpkins. One sunny day while Blossom was again the one in charge of watching the hotlines, Buttercup decided to ask Bubbles to go out and get lunch with her, which she readily accepted.

Rather than fly to their destination, the two of them decided to take a leisurely walk there and appreciate the scenery of Townsville on this picture-perfect day.

"You think Blossom will mind that we left her at home to go get ourselves lunch?" Buttercup asked concerned. She wanted to get closer to Bubbles, but she didn't want to alienate Blossom.

"No, of course not!" Bubbles replied, "The two of us went without you the other day. You were right though, Buttercup, we should spend more one-on-one time together."

Buttercup smiled, she was glad Bubbles wanted at least that much. She looked at her sister, admiring how her hair and eyes shone brilliantly in the golden sunlight. The tank top and the short skirt she was wearing showed off the full form of her body. Buttercup almost lost herself in lust for a second staring at her sister's smooth legs. Then she abruptly snapped herself out of it. She knew that even if by some insane luck Bubbles reciprocated her feelings that the lust and the romantic love she felt would still be considered wrong by most.

The two of them soon arrived at their destination, a local café, where they purchased their meals and drinks and then opted to sit at an outside table. They were in the downtown Townsville, so many people passed by them, sat nearby, and walked around doing various activities and heading to various destinations. Since the girls were created and raised in Townsville, it was the only city on Earth where they could go out in public and have to deal with very few accusing stares and no one telling them to leave their city. The reason that this happened to them in almost any other populated area was because people around the world knew that wherever the Powerpuff Girls were, powerful villains were likely to appear more frequently to try and stop them. But even in Townsville they were outcasts. No one wanted to be close friends with them and become a potential kidnapping victim or hostage of one of their enemies, who were known for their devious and unpredictable schemes.

Buttercup knew she had a lot of ground to cover with Bubbles before she could even think about telling her how she felt. Once she did, she imagined, Bubbles would be disgusted and they would work through it. Then maybe Buttercup could let these strange romantic feelings go.

At the moment, Buttercup decided it wouldn't be at all inappropriate to discuss the topic of Bubbles's general feelings about romantic relationships (without mentioning _her own_ feelings for Bubbles yet, of course) as they ate their lunch outside on that sunny day.

"Bubbles, I've been wondering something," Buttercup began, lightly picking with her fork at the salad she had ordered. She wasn't that hungry, she just wanted an excuse to be able to go out and spend time with Bubbles.

"What?" Bubbles responded.

"How do you feel about romantic relationships?" Buttercup asked, "I mean, what do you think the likelihood is that you'll ever be in one?"

"Oh, I don't know, I haven't given it much thought," Bubbles replied lightly, "I mean, it would be asking a lot to put _regular people_ through what we go through, so that eliminates most of the world's population right there."

"Yeah," Buttercup nodded along, smiling. She really agreed with that sentiment.

"Anyway, I'm happy if I just end up living with you and Blossom for the rest of my life," Bubbles continued cheerily, "I love my sisters!"

"I love you too Bubbles," Buttercup smiled, "And I'm happy with my sisters too. Although… I occasionally do wish I had a special someone in my life." It was hard to just leave it at that when the ideal 'special someone' was sitting right there across from her.

Bubbles replied with the obligatory "Aw, I'm sure you'll find someone," and Buttercup groaned internally. She didn't need that bland type of encouragement when the type of romantic love and longing she felt was so absurd and unusual.

"Thanks," Buttercup said nonchalantly, "I'm not in the mood to bring anyone new into my life at the moment, though."

"Yeah, but Buttercup I've always wondered something about you," Bubbles said, "I hope you won't take offense to me asking."

"You can ask me anything, Bubbles, you never have to worry," Buttercup replied sincerely. She would never be mad at Bubbles, at least not if she kept feeling the way she did now. The last time Buttercup had been mad at Bubbles at all was when they were children and in their early teen years for reasons that Buttercup deemed too immature and pointless to fret over as an adult.

"What's your sexual orientation?" Bubbles asked bluntly. Buttercup was absolutely not ready for that question to come from her, but she was glad that Bubbles was curious enough to ask. However, the truth was that she didn't really know what her orientation was as she had never put much thought into placing a label on that aspect of herself.

"I don't know," Buttercup replied after thinking for a moment.

"You don't have to be embarrassed Buttercup, I don't care what you are. I was just curious," Bubbles said.

"No, I mean I'm really not sure. I honestly never gave it much thought," Buttercup explained.

"Oh… But then I'm guessing you've had feelings for both genders then at some point? Otherwise, you would've just answered that you were gay or straight, right?" Bubbles asked.

"Yeah, I guess. I never stopped to think about the type of people I liked before," Buttercup said, "You know, when you have all these powers, having a sexuality that's different from the norm isn't really that big of a concern."

"Makes sense," Bubbles agreed, "I feel the same way."

"So do you know what your sexual orientation is?" Buttercup asked Bubbles.

"I'll tell you mine when you figure out yours," Bubbles replied teasingly. Buttercup made a mental note to herself to do so. Even if Bubbles was just discussing this for fun at the moment, it could be a valuable step in getting closer to her sister. Who knew, maybe Bubbles would reciprocate her messed up feelings? They were in the same, very unique family after all. Maybe Bubbles would share some of Buttercup's demons and they could be happy together. But that wouldn't make it right for them to be together. Buttercup pushed those thoughts again to the back of her head. Now was not the time or place to dwell on this.

Bubbles and Buttercup finished their lunch just outside the café without touching upon any more conversation points that were of particular importance, but Buttercup still enjoyed every moment of being in Bubbles's company.

That night, Buttercup was up late on her computer unable to sleep. Each girl had their own room and plenty of privacy now that they were grown up and the professor was gone. Buttercup's room was dark right now aside from the glow of the computer screen which she was sitting in front of at her desk.

She was doing research, looking things up on the internet, trying to figure out her sexuality, and trying to figure out why she might have feelings for her sister. Wasn't this an activity usually reserved for angsty teens, she wondered to herself? It didn't matter, she needed to figure some things out. As far as Buttercup could tell about herself, she was just plain old bisexual. But that alone did little to explain her desire to be intimate with Bubbles.

She still wondered, would it really be _wrong_ for her to be in a romantic or sexual relationship with Bubbles? As far as she could tell, incest was only illegal because it freaked most people out and because children born to incestuous parents could face serious developmental issues. But that didn't really apply to Buttercup and her sisters. They were already freaks in the eyes of many and she and Bubbles certainly weren't going to produce any children if they were together. Neither of them wanted to, nor were they capable of doing so even if they did. If their feelings were mutual, where was the harm?

For a second Buttercup felt extremely hopeful. She pondered a life where she and Bubbles could be happy together. But then reality set in and she remembered that the chances of Bubbles herself reciprocating Buttercup's feelings were very slim. And the consequences of her or Blossom (or anyone for that matter) finding out that she had a sexual attraction to Bubbles could be devastating.

Buttercup glanced over at the clock. It was 1:30 in the morning and here she was fantasizing about Bubbles. She began to feel upset with herself and even a bit physically ill. It just wasn't fair. It wasn't right that she had to feel this way, where there didn't seem to be any way out. Buttercup buried her head between her arms on the desk and began to cry silently. Things were just looking far too bleak at the moment.

But Buttercup was not one to show weakness for long. Even as an adult, she still hated crying. At least at the moment, no one could see her like this. She turned her computer off and decided to force herself to go to sleep rather than dwell on her situation and cry herself to sleep. Things would look better in the morning. At least, that's how it usually went.

However, Buttercup found herself struggling to get to sleep. She tossed and turned for an hour, pushing the depressing and depraved thoughts of incest out of her mind. But it was too much, she needed to speak to Bubbles right then and there, even if it was now nearly 3 AM.

Buttercup drifted out of her bed and over to the door of Bubbles's bedroom. She didn't like to disrespect either of her sisters' privacy, but she used her X-ray vision just this once to see through the bedroom wall. As expected, Bubbles was peacefully asleep, looking like a sleeping angel to Buttercup. She quietly cracked open the door and slid into Bubbles room, awkwardly standing over her sleeping beauty of a sister at the edge of the bed. Buttercup took a deep breath and gave Bubbles arm a gentle shake to wake her up.

"Bubbles," Buttercup gently whispered her name.

"Hmmm?" Bubbles stirred, her eyes opening narrowly to observe the outline of Buttercup staring down at her, "Buttercup," she yawned, "Do you need something? What time is it?" Bubbles spoke groggily.

"I just… Bubbles please don't be mad at me for waking you, but," Buttercup began, then paused for a few seconds. Now was not the time to lay all her feelings on the line, but at the same time she didn't want to just drop it at something trivial. So she compromised.

"I couldn't sleep. I was lonely and I was wondering if I could… crawl in bed with you?" She asked awkwardly. It sounded so wrong to her, but Bubbles mind seemed to be in a different place and she must not have thought anything of it.

"Sure, go ahead Buttercup," Bubbles replied warmly, "My door's open for you any time."

Buttercup smiled and crawled under the covers with Bubbles in her pajamas. She pushed the dirty thoughts from her mind, but the warm romantic ones were still there. Bubbles wouldn't mind if she cuddled, would she? Buttercup wondered nervously. She decided to just go for it, wrapping her arm around Bubbles's waist and laying her head on a pillow just inches from her sister's face.

Bubbles showed no resistance to this and in the darkness Buttercup could see a small smile form across her lips. Before she drifted off to sleep, one last thing came to Buttercup's mind.

"Bubbles?"

"Yeah?" Bubbles acknowledged her sleepily.

"To answer your question from earlier, I'm bisexual," Buttercup said softly, her eyes still shut as she clung to Bubbles body, "So can you tell me what you are now?"

"Pansexual," Bubbles answered nonchalantly.

"Okay," was Buttercup's last word before the two of them began falling to sleep once more. She didn't know what 'pansexual' meant so she'd have to look it up later.

It was past 3 AM at this point, but Buttercup was finally in a state of mental contentment. There was no need to toss and turn when she was right next to Bubbles. She hadn't accomplished her ultimate goal yet, but she had come far enough to let her tired body drift off to sleep without any qualms.


	3. Chapter 3

When Buttercup awoke the following morning, Bubbles had already gotten up and she found herself lying in Bubbles bed by herself. It made sense that Bubbles would have gotten up sooner, as Buttercup was the one who had stayed up later. She glanced over at the clock to see that it was past 11 AM. At least she had gotten her eight hours of sleep, even if that meant sleeping in a bit late. Before getting up, Buttercup briefly admired the fact that the sun seemed to shine a bit more brightly into Bubbles's room in the morning than it did in her own.

Buttercup walked down into the kitchen, rubbing her eyes and waking up. There, she found Blossom doing the dishes.

"'Morning, Blossom, what's up?" Buttercup greeted her casually.

"Oh nothing much, Bubbles and I had breakfast a while ago," Blossom stated plainly, "Do you mind explaining why you felt the need to sleep… so close to her last night?"

Buttercup should have known a question like this would come from Blossom. She hadn't really thought that through last night. It didn't really matter to her, she knew she'd be able to come up with some bogus excuse for Blossom. And if Blossom didn't like it, too bad.

"Didn't Bubbles tell you? I was lonely," Buttercup answered in a tone that showed that she felt having this conversation would be unnecessary. Well, at least what she said was true.

"Yes she did, it's just very odd Buttercup," Blossom said calmly, "I know how close you two are, but _you've_ been acting kind of strange lately. Is there something I don't know about? Anything I should know?" Blossom sounded concerned and Buttercup appreciated that, but there was no way the whole truth was coming out right here and now. Zero chance.

"I'm fine. I was just lonely and I went to Bubbles," Buttercup explained, "We've been bonding lately and now we're even closer than we were before. Good enough?"

"I guess," Blossom replied, somewhat unsatisfied with Buttercup's vague explanation. But there was no reason to grill her with suspecting questions first thing in the morning. After all, what was there to be suspicious of?

As children and teenagers, Blossom as the commander and leader had often been the one to diffuse arguments between her sisters. But as they had grown up, both physically and maturity-wise, this happened less and less often and Bubbles and Buttercup learned to resolve issues between themselves more peacefully. There was still an occasional fight between the two, but they made it a point not to fight with each other since their bond was so close. Blossom was a bit left out, but it didn't bother her much. She was actually quite relieved at times that her sisters could lean on each other for emotional support.

So for the time being, she wouldn't pay much mind to Buttercup's slightly odd behavior unless she was explicitly needed to do so. Her mind was pulled from this thought process as she heard the phone ring.

"I'll get it," Buttercup offered. Blossom allowed her to do so. It wasn't the hotline that was ringing, so it couldn't be anything too important.

"Hello?" Buttercup answered.

She was met with the sound of deep breathing for a few seconds before a voice spoke up. It was harsh, menacing, and inhuman in nature.

"You incestuous little whore," the voice snarled at her, "I know your tainted and impure desires. And should you act upon them I will plunge the world _into darkness_!"

"Why?" Buttercup asked nonchalantly, not wanting Blossom to guess that anything was amiss.

"Why?" the voice mocked her, "Because when heroes such as yourself, those who are _supposed_ to be defenders of purity, commit a sin that grievously defiles their own purity and goodness… A sin such as… Incest… I gain the right to rise to power. The right to rule the kingdom of flesh."

"And what makes you think you can defeat me?" Buttercup asked confidently. Although, she was feeling anything but confident. How did this person _know this_ about her. What if word got out that she had incestuous desires and nothing could be done about it? How would the world react? Worse yet, how would her sisters react if they heard the news from someone other than herself?

"Because I know your worse fears," the voice explained, "And unlike in times past, _I will no longer hold anything back_! The one you love shall suffer before your very eyes! I will torment many, but she will _suffer the worst_!"

Then the person on the other end hung up. Buttercup knew it could only be one person threatening her. She felt fear and apprehension about what he meant by 'not holding anything back as he did in times past.' But most of all she felt rage and frustration. How had he ascertained this knowledge about her? And _how dare he_ threaten Bubbles? Buttercup rarely had trouble controlling her anger as an adult, but at this moment it took everything she had just to continue acting normally so Blossom wouldn't grow suspicious.

"Who was that?" Blossom asked curiously.

"Oh nothing, just some crank-calling kid," Buttercup replied, "Just some asshole who wants to talk trash to a Powerpuff Girl."

"Ha, they'd never say it to _our_ _faces_ ," Blossom smiled in a smug, playful manner.

"That goes without saying," Buttercup remarked, "I'll see you later. I've got hotline duty today."

"Alright, good luck."

As Buttercup sat in the hotline room of the girls' house, many concerns about the threat she had just received raced through her mind.

She knew that lying to Blossom and not reporting a threat from Him was something that would be very frowned upon if she was found out. But that would mean breaking her feelings about Bubbles to Blossom in order to properly explain the context of the threat. Unacceptable, Bubbles had to be the first one to know and even that would only happen when they were alone and the moment was right.

On the other hand, the threat just made Buttercup more driven and determined to be with Bubbles. Whether it was right or wrong, it was what was going to make her happy and no villainous intimidation tactics were going to prevent that. She was going to find a moment in their lives soon where she could tell Bubbles how she felt. Maybe even offer an explanation of why it wasn't even that crazy for the two of them to be lovers. The only person on Earth who could prevent Buttercup from being with Bubbles was Bubbles herself.


	4. Chapter 4

Buttercup stood outside the door to Bubbles's room that evening, thinking to herself. She wanted to make sure this was the right time and the right decision.

A month had passed since the threatening call from Him. It was a month that had seen its share of crime-fighting for the girls, but there was no sign of Him, nor any particularly close calls like the one they had had when they last encountered him. Buttercup shuddered. She still couldn't shake the image of that… _thing._ The way it had been slowly lowering Blossom and Bubbles into the Earth, into a fiery pit, was a wretched and terrifying memory that she wished she could forget.

It made her worry. She recalled Him's threat to make Bubbles suffer before her very eyes. Would he use that same demonic machine that he had employed during their last encounter? That mass of teeth, claws, and metal was one of the most menacing tools of evil the girls had ever faced. Even Blossom and Bubbles weren't strong enough to escape its grasp once it had caught them. But Buttercup had stopped it last time and she would beat it again if that's what it took to be with Bubbles, she told herself.

Furthermore, Buttercup was telling Bubbles her feelings tonight and nothing was stopping her.

"Bubbles, put on your best dress," Buttercup exclaimed walking into her sister's room, "I'm taking you out for a night on the town."

Bubbles beamed excitedly at her sister. It was no longer uncommon for Buttercup to come into her room unannounced. She had been desensitizing Bubbles for a while to things that were somewhat romantic in context, having frequent late night conversations with her, giving her kisses on the cheek that were just slightly longer and more intimate than kisses between siblings should be, taking her out on dates that were usually only reserved for couples, and just generally subjecting her to a variety of subtly romantic gestures. Bubbles didn't see these gestures as being romantic as they were happening, but she would after Buttercup told her of her love for her. At least that's what Buttercup hoped.

Tonight's night on the town would be the crescendo of these romantic gestures.

"Oh, where are we going?" Bubbles asked, her voice high with excitement.

"We're taking a walk through downtown Townsville," Buttercup said.

"Really? There's so much going on down there on a Friday night, are you sure you won't mind?" Bubbles asked, "You're a little bit antisocial around large groups of people."

"Yeah, but you deserve a night out," Buttercup explained, "One where you can get all dressed up and people besides Blossom and I can see you. I know you like that doing that kind of stuff."

"Aw, Buttercup, if I want to do those things, I can do them by myself," Bubbles said.

"I want to be with you tonight," Buttercup replied. She meant that in so many ways, but she knew which way Bubbles would interpret it.

The two of them took to the streets for what Bubbles believed would be a fun and relaxing night together. For the most part that's exactly what it was. Contrary to the quiet place it had been at night when the girls were growing up, downtown Townsville was now bustling with artists, entertainers, and small businesses looking to make their living off of citizens and tourists who enjoyed the night life. And on Fridays and weekend nights they were usually out or open well past midnight.

Bubbles and Buttercup spent the later part of their evening in this lively and bright part of town. Buttercup went with her sister to see a small museum of various types of art by local artists. Bubbles enjoyed this as she herself was somewhat of an artist, having always enjoyed drawing. Normally Buttercup would have found this type of activity boring, but while Bubbles was admiring the art, she just found herself admiring Bubbles and her reactions to said art. The two of them also enjoyed some delightful homemade ice cream that evening, something Buttercup _did_ like and wasn't just doing for Bubbles.

But the highlight of their evening was when the two of them came upon a string quartet playing in the town square next to a fountain.

"Oh, Buttercup, this music is beautiful! Would you-" Bubbles stuttered and paused, "I know this isn't your thing, but… would you please dance with me."

"Alright… but only for a few minutes!" Buttercup exclaimed, blushing and trying to pretend she didn't love this opportunity. She was doing a poor job of that.

Bubbles eyes lit up as she squealed and blushed with enjoyment. The string quartet was playing classical music. It wasn't something Buttercup would normally listen to, she preferred metal music, but this suited the occasion perfectly. The atmosphere as the two of them danced together was nearly perfect. Others danced around them, some people stood and watched, and others merely passed by on their way to a different destination. The music was joyful and full of melodies and harmonies that were consonant.

The only thing keeping the experience from being entirely perfect was the fact that a few people still stared at them because they were the infamous Powerpuff Girls. But Buttercup knew they wouldn't say anything unless they wanted a black eye or a busted lip. Besides, she was too busy getting lost in Bubbles's big blue eyes. Their faces were so close together. All Buttercup's inner turmoil seemed to cease, if only for a moment.

After their dance, the two of them decided to end the night by flying up to and sitting atop one of Townsville's tallest skyscrapers and looking out over the city and the suburbs. They were finally alone, the atmosphere was even more tranquil, yet that was the moment where all of Buttercup's inner turmoil came back to the surface. In fact, it surfaced more than ever before, as that was the moment Buttercup knew that she had to tell Bubbles of her not-so-sisterly love.

The two of them were sitting in silence, Buttercup had an arm around Bubbles's shoulder. She took a few moments to enjoy the silence and the closeness, but then took her arm off of her sister as she broke said silence. She thought it might be a good idea for Bubbles to have her personal space when she heard this.

"Bubbles," Buttercup began, trying not to sound nervous, "Part of the reason I brought you out here tonight, specifically up here alone, is because I needed to tell you something."

"Yeah?" Bubbles responded plainly, smiling lightly at Buttercup.

"Well, first you have to promise _not to be mad_ ," Buttercup explained, "You _must_ try to understand that I can't control my feelings. But I can still control my actions so you have nothing to worry about, okay?"

"That sounds reasonable enough, but I have no idea what you're talking about," Bubbles replied.

"You will in a moment," Buttercup's voice was slowly growing more nervous, "Remember how we were talking a while back about romantic relationships? I may have said that I'm not ready to bring someone new into my life yet, but I still want romance? Or something like that?"

"Yes I do, go on," Bubbles said.

"Well, the truth is, I don't want to bring anyone new into my life, at least not for romantic purposes," Buttercup continued, "Most of the world doesn't understand the ups and downs of having superpowers anyway and I already have someone in mind."

"Who?" Bubbles asked.

And that was the moment of truth. Buttercup knew she had to go through with this. She took a deep breath and prepared herself for any reaction from Bubbles.

"This is the part you can't be mad about. Please don't hate me for this," Buttercup said softly, "I love someone who _does understand_ the responsibilities and the ups and downs that come with superpowers. I love you Bubbles. As more than just my sister. Though it may sound sickening, I can't deny I have the most romantic _lust_ for you... I'm sorry." Buttercup spoke slowly. So much for trying to make this love not sound insane, she thought. Did all this apologizing help or hurt her cause?

There was silence again. Neither of them knew for how long, but it was a tense and dead silence for Buttercup.

"Well… That's unexpected!" Bubbles exclaimed after staring in shock at Buttercup for what seemed like forever, "Looking back… I guess there were signs? I don't know…"

"I'm so sorry!" Buttercup sounded upset, "We can still love each other as just sisters! I promise! Even if you're disgusted, just _please_ _don't_ let this ruin us as sisters."

"You can relax Buttercup, I'm not disgusted," Bubbles said calmly, much to her sister's surprise, "I will _always_ love you as a sister, no matter how messed up your feelings may be… But what you've just described to me… It doesn't bother me that much and it's far from the worst thing to ever come out of your mouth."

"Honest?" Buttercup asked, "I mean, how do you _really_ feel about it then?"

Bubbles thought for a moment.

"I'm not entirely sure," she answered, "I hate to do this to you, but… I don't want to respond until I've slept on this."

"What do you mean?" Buttercup asked.

"I mean I have a certain thought, a certain reaction, but…" Bubbles trailed off briefly, "I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning to give you a response."

"Why?"

"Because, sometimes things that seem like good ideas in the late hours of the night don't feel the same in the morning," Bubbles explained, "So a long time ago I realized this and now I always wait until the next morning to make big decisions. My life choices have gotten better since I've done this."

While Buttercup hated the idea of waiting until morning to hear Bubbles's thoughts, she had to admit that this was a good process for decision making, one that she could learn a thing or two from by applying it to herself (although she had inadvertently applied it several times over when considering how she would tell Bubbles her feelings).

"Okay Bubbles, that's fair," Buttercup stated, "but I have one favor to ask."

"Anything."

"Please don't tell _anyone_ about this, whatever you do. No one. Not even Blossom."

"Don't worry Buttercup," Bubbles said in a comforting tone as the two of them stood up to fly home, "No one will know until you're ready. I won't let anything happen to you."

 _No Bubbles,_ Buttercup thought to herself as they were flying home that night, **_I_** _won't let anything happen to_ _ **you**_ _._


	5. Chapter 5

**WARNING: This chapter contains content not suitable for young audiences, hence the M rating!**

Buttercup had been up late the night before, but she was up early the following morning (well, early by _her standards_ ). She could hardly sleep that night, given that she was so anxiously anticipating what Bubbles response to her recently confessed forbidden love would be. Bubbles was usually up early and sure enough when Buttercup checked her room, her bed was empty. She hurried downstairs to find Bubbles so that she could pull her aside and get a response to the feelings she had confessed last night. Instead she only found Blossom making herself a cup of coffee. Buttercup checked every room of the house and looked outside at the immediate vicinity around the house with her X-ray vision. Bubbles was nowhere to be found so Buttercup went into the living room to ask Blossom.

"Hey Blossom, have you seen Bubbles?"

"Geez, would it kill you to at least greet me with a good morning first?" Blossom asked, giving Buttercup a glare that showed mildly hurt feelings, "You and Bubbles have spent _a ton_ of time together lately, would it kill either of you to talk to _me_ a little more?"

Blossom was a bit more emotional than usual, but Buttercup supposed that it was justified. Even though it didn't often bother her to be a little left out of Bubbles's and Buttercup's affairs, they may have been alienating her a bit too much lately.

"You're right Blossom, I'm sorry," Buttercup looked away, feeling a bit ashamed of herself. She had been especially guilty of somewhat ignoring the sister she wasn't in love with. There was silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry if you've felt a little left out," she continued, "But this morning, it's really important that I be with Bubbles. I'll make time for you in the future I promise, but do you know where she is?"

Blossom sighed.

"No I don't. I've been wondering myself though," Blossom replied, "She was gone when I woke up about forty-five minutes ago."

"Shit!" Buttercup exclaimed anxiously.

Had Him followed through with his threat and somehow kidnapped Bubbles? If so would she and Blossom be able to defeat him with their firepower diminished from the onset? And how unbelievably furious would Blossom be with Buttercup if she discovered that not only did she have incestuous desires, but that those desires had been the cause of a major attack from Him, one that perhaps could've been avoided altogether?

These questions and worries raced through Buttercup's mind several times over, all in a matter of seconds. Then she thought it best to ask Blossom another question.

"Blossom, did Bubbles tell you anything recently?" Buttercup asked, "Anything significant?"

"Nope," Blossom replied, "Don't worry. I'm sure she just went out to enjoy the morning sunshine or something. She'll turn up soon."

"Alright," Buttercup sighed in resignation.

Bubbles could be anywhere. If she wanted to be alone, there was no stopping her. Buttercup was just praying that she hadn't been kidnapped or otherwise gotten into serious danger.

It was almost noon by the time Bubbles returned home. Buttercup had been nervously waiting for her for over three hours at that point. She had barely been able to conceal the intensity of her anxiety from Blossom that morning, although her sister had grown used to Buttercup's behavior being somewhat odd at times by this point.

Buttercup pulled Bubbles aside as far away from Blossom as she could so that she could talk to her and finally get the reaction she had been so anxiously awaiting.

"Bubbles, where were you all morning?" Buttercup asked under her breath, sounding a bit upset, "I was worried sick about you!"

"Why?" Bubbles asked smiling.

Buttercup rolled her eyes in annoyance. For once she actually felt a bit irritated at Bubbles's smile. Mostly because she didn't understand the gravity of the situation.

"Nevermind, I'll have to explain later, but it has to be soon," Buttercup said urgently, she had to get to the next point, "So what's your reaction?"

"My reaction to what?" Bubbles asked.

Buttercup face-palmed. As it turned out, she could still get quite annoyed with Bubbles from time to time. But she quickly pushed that to the back of her head, she was still in love with her sister no matter what. After all, even in the incredibly unlikely scenario that Bubbles did reciprocate her love, no relationship could be perfect.

"Your reaction to what I told you last night," Buttercup explained, "I know you're not disgusted with me, but I'm also pretty sure that you don't feel the same way as I do. So how do you feel and what do you want me to do about this? I hope and wish that there's _something_ I can do to make things right!"

Buttercup spoke quickly and nervously, but not too loud. She didn't want Blossom to overhear their conversation. Of course Blossom could listen in on them if she wanted to and they wouldn't be able to stop her, but as long as she wasn't feeling very suspicious, she almost certainly wouldn't.

"Relax Buttercup, that's what I've been away thinking about all morning," Bubbles said gently, seeing that her sister was very on edge, "I found a place I think we should go… So that we can talk one on one about this without the threat of being found or heard."

"I think that's a very smart idea," Buttercup sighed in relief. Bubbles was finally taking this as seriously as she was and taking some very thoughtful precautions. At the same time, Buttercup wondered where her sister would take her.

After their brief conversation, the two of them told Blossom they were heading out to run some errands together and left. Blossom didn't think much of it, but just to make sure she didn't feel left out again, Buttercup promised her that all three of them would do something together soon.

After they headed out, Bubbles told Buttercup that they would be going very far away and to follow her. It made sense to Buttercup for Bubbles to choose a spot that was not too close to home, as the girls were fast enough to fly anywhere in the world in just a few minutes.

Bubbles led Buttercup to the ocean and down along the shoreline for an unknown number of miles until they came upon a small meadow along the edge of a high rocky cliff. The meadow was surrounded on all sides, with the exception of the side that the cliff was on, by a dense forest. The sky was sunless and grey, but the temperature was warm. As she and Bubbles landed themselves in the center of the small meadow, Buttercup could feel a warm, humid ocean breeze.

She was reasonably certain that Bubbles had chosen a place where no one would find them. The only place that anyone could hide and spy on them or hear them was the forest, but it was thick and deep in nature, a place no one would think to go. And Bubbles and Buttercup would have a good chance of hearing anyone coming from here. It was nearly silent in the meadow, save for the gentle sound of the wind and the waves crashing against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff.

It made sense to Buttercup that Bubbles had chosen this place for the two of them to talk. She was always the one who loved nature.

"Bubbles," Buttercup began, taking a few seconds to refocus herself on the task at hand, "Before you tell me how you feel and how we can move forward… There's something _gravely_ serious I need to warn you about."

"Okay, what is it?" Bubbles asked.

"A while ago, I answered the phone at our house and Him was on the other end," Buttercup explained, "I don't know how, but somehow he _knows_ how I feel about you. And then he threatened me."

"He threatens us all the time, we'll stop whatever plan he has just like we have before," Bubbles said.

Buttercup began to feel sick with herself. She felt rage, anxiety, and guilt welling up within her. Everything that had transpired in the last month and a half or so had added such stress to her life, with a feeling of nowhere to turn. And now the guilt of laying it all on Bubbles was causing her to feel so angry with herself that she was moved to tears of anguish. She collapsed to her knees in the tall grass and wild flowers. Bubbles knelt beside her as Buttercup desperately clung to her sister for emotional support.

"It's just different this time!" Buttercup exclaimed, fighting back tears, "He said that he wouldn't 'hold back' like he had in previous times. He said the entire world would pay and that you, Bubbles, would suffer the most before my own eyes. And then I remembered that horrible _thing_ he'd sent after us the last time we fought him. It almost killed you and Blossom. I'm afraid for your lives and I'm responsible for the danger you're in!"

Buttercup now sobbed tears of anger and guilt onto Bubbles's dress.

"And if anyone tries to hurt Blossom or especially you, I'll kill them!" Buttercup snarled, upset with herself, "None of this shit would've happened if I hadn't had these stupid, fucked up feelings!"

Bubbles could see that Buttercup was driving herself to a very dark place with all the feelings that she had been hiding recently. She hugged her sister close and did everything she could to calm her down.

"Buttercup, it's going to be alright," Bubbles said as Buttercup quieted herself just a bit, "Nothing's happened yet. And whatever does happen, whatever anyone finds out, we can deal with it. We can overcome anything."

"Bubbles, these feelings of this… _wrong_ type of love that I've had for you," Buttercup began, speaking more calmly but still sounding upset, "They go back a long time. I tried to make them go away, but they never did. I just never wanted to put you through this. I never wanted anything to happen to you or Blossom."

"Buttercup, relax, nothing has happened to me," Bubbles gave her a soothing smile, "And remember, I'm not helpless, it's as much of my responsibility to protect you as it is for you to protect me. We'll always be there for each other no matter what."

"You're right Bubbles, I'm still sorry for everything though," Buttercup replied.

"You still need to control your emotions sometimes," Bubbles said gently.

For a few minutes, neither of them spoke. Buttercup's crying slowly ceased in Bubbles's comforting embrace. Things didn't seem quite as dark any more. She wouldn't be facing her issues completely alone.

When she was younger, Buttercup had always hated apologizing and done everything in her power to avoid it. The simple reason for this was that she hated the feeling of shame that came from admitting she had done something wrong. For that same reason, she now often apologized too much or even when it wasn't necessary. She hated guilt and she wanted to right her wrongs as quickly as she could.

"I'm still sorry, Bubbles," Buttercup said solemnly and calmly, drying the last of her tears.

"You don't have to be," Bubbles told her.

Buttercup looked up from the shoulder she had been crying on and into Bubbles's eyes. She was smiling just as warmly as ever and before Buttercup knew what was happening, Bubbles was pulling her in for a very not-sisterly kiss on the lips. It was shocking in the best possible way. For a moment Buttercup let all worries fade away so that she could just enjoy this, the most romantic moment of her life. All the romantic gestures she had recently made were finally being reciprocated by Bubbles in the form of an absolutely perfect kiss.

After Buttercup pulled out of the kiss, she looked into Bubbles's eyes for a second then immediately pulled her in for another long kiss. She had wanted to do this for so long and so many times that once was simply not enough. This time she was the aggressor of the kiss and it felt even better. After the second kiss was over, Buttercup spoke up, needing to confirm that this was indeed really happening.

"Does this mean…?" Buttercup asked, her voice trailing off on a question she now knew the answer to.

"Yes, it means we can be together," Bubbles pulled herself in closer to Buttercup, "We can be closer than ever before. We can be happy." The two of them were still sitting next to each other in the grassy meadow, the whole mood had gone from dreary to romantic in a matter of seconds.

Buttercup gave Bubbles yet another, shorter kiss on the lips and then the two of them shared a tight, loving embrace. Then Bubbles began kissing and nibbling on Buttercup's neck in a manner that, to her surprise, seemed sexual in nature. Bubbles made a move to start undressing her, but Buttercup stopped her to ask a question.

"Bubbles are you sure you're ready for this? We only just-"

"Are you sure _you're_ ready for this?" Bubbles challenged playfully.

Buttercup felt herself grow weak with arousal as she sank further into Bubbles's embrace and allowed her to strip her of all but her natural being. Despite all their powers, sexual release was a need that Bubbles and Buttercup shared with average humans. Buttercup had always imagined that had she even gotten this far with Bubbles, she would need to be the one to initiate any sexual relations. But as she lay on her back in the tall grass with Bubbles crawling on top of her, she realized that it was not going to be that way. And she was fine with that.

Buttercup moaned as Bubbles nibbled gently on her neck some more and then began planting kisses all down her body. It wasn't long before Bubbles also freed herself from her clothing and their bodies fully intertwined in the art of love-making. It was the forbidden romance Buttercup had long been waiting for.

The two of them made love right there in the meadow, feeling nothing but the grass and flowers, the gentle breeze, each others' bodies, and the pure ecstasy of reaching sexual satisfaction. Buttercup had never felt as amazing as she did when Bubbles went down on her and she couldn't have been happier to return the favor and pleasure Bubbles as well.

After the two of them were finished making each other feel good several times over, they sat up and embraced each other again. They shared another deep kiss as Buttercup felt up and down Bubbles's body with her hands. Her skin was so soft and pure, Buttercup thought, despite the years of combat she had endured with her sisters. Buttercup ran her hand through her sister's gorgeous blonde hair as they pulled out of the kiss and gazed longingly into each others' eyes. Bubbles returned the favor and gently explored Buttercup's body with her hands as well. It felt so wonderful that Bubbles was finally touching her this way.

Tired from all the love they had been making, the two of them soon let their bodies fall to the ground. As they lay there, Buttercup gazed up at the grey sky and Bubbles cuddled her, nuzzling her face on her sister's neck and shoulder.

"Bubbles?" Buttercup began after a few moments of silence, "Are you sure you want this? Because it has to be permanent. You know we can never break up."

She was right, if this were to go on, a breakup would break up their family and severely diminish their ability to fight crime as a team. That was a risk the girls could not afford to take.

"It will always be like this from now on Buttercup," Bubbles cuddled her tighter as she said this, "I love you."

"I love you too."

After that, Bubbles let out a sigh of happiness and bliss and the two of them were silent again. Buttercup was still in disbelief that this was _actually_ happening, but this moment was too perfect. She would deal with said disbelief on another day. Right now, it was just her and Bubbles, out in nature, in a meadow by the ocean, sans clothing. No matter how unrealistic this seemed to her right now, she was overjoyed things had turned out this way.

Without really noticing, the two of them began drifting off to sleep as they were cuddling. They ended up taking a nap together right there and then. It was not intentional, but Bubbles and Buttercup enjoyed the feeling of being able to fall asleep, nude in each others' arms, for the first time.

It was unknown exactly how long Bubbles and Buttercup were asleep, but their perfect day came to an end when they were awoken by a harsh kick in the side.

"Well, it looks like we've caught the _incest sisters_ red-handed!" a nasty, familiar voice exclaimed as the girls' eyes were still adjusting to the daylight, "I think it's time to have some fun!"

Buttercup looked up to see all three of the Rowdyruff Boys standing over them. And they had just caught Bubbles and Buttercup in a _very vulnerable_ position.


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING: This chapter contains content not suitable for young audiences, hence the M rating! Some readers may find this chapter disturbing! Please take heed!**

Buttercup scrambled to get up from the ground and Bubbles followed suit. She faced the Rowdyruffs, ready in her stance for a fight. Bubbles however, made her best efforts to cover her nakedness. Buttercup could see that she was embarrassed and humiliated to have been found like this. It made her burn with intense anger, but she forced herself to stay calm. Without Blossom, it would be up to Buttercup to devise a strategy to fight the Rowdyruff Boys. But they were outnumbered this time, and in previous encounters with the boys, it had often been a tossup when the fights were even. Things were looking suddenly and unexpectedly dire, but Bubbles and Buttercup had to try their absolute best not to panic.

"Why don't you just walk away and pretend this never happened," Buttercup suggested through gritted teeth, "We don't wanna deal with your shit right now!"

Brick, Boomer, and Butch simply laughed at Buttercup. She looked at Bubbles next to her, whom she could still see was embarrassed and now a bit fearful as well.

"You think we'll just walk away for nothing?" Brick asked sarcastically, "No! You have two choices; you can either show us a good time or we can make you show us a good time!"

"That's fucking disgusting!" Buttercup snapped back.

"Oh, but incest isn't?" Boomer asked.

"You shitheads wouldn't understand!" Buttercup snarled at them with hatred.

"I don't care about your petty sister-fucking good guy morals," Brick interrupted, "Why don't you join us for some fun now, 'cause we're having it whether you like it or not."

"I'd rather go straight to hell!" Buttercup exclaimed. She nodded subtly at Bubbles who had suppressed her fear and was now ready for a fight.

"That can be arranged!" Brick and his brothers grinned deviously and readied themselves for a fight.

Buttercup dashed as fast as she could to get her clothes on before the fight. At top speed, the girls could get dressed extremely quickly. Buttercup was successful, but Bubbles wasn't so lucky. Brick, with his extremely fast reaction time, had caught her and the two of them were struggling.

Meanwhile, Buttercup was quickly engaged in battle with Boomer and Butch. The three of them took to the skies, where Buttercup gave them everything she had. She shot lasers out of her eyes, she punched and kicked with all her might, she tackled the two of them from the sky to the ground on one occasion, but they soon overcame her. The odd thing was, they weren't trying to defeat her or completely destroy her like they usually would be attempting. Boomer and Butch seemed to be holding back on their attacks most of the time and it became apparent that they were only trying to restrain Buttercup.

They forced Buttercup into a kneeling position on the ground, where they stepped on the bottom part of her legs as hard as they could to prevent her from moving them. Each of them used both of their arms to hold one of Buttercup's arms. She squirmed and struggled, but Buttercup found that she was unable to break free from their grasp.

"Stop fighting us and watch this, you stupid bitch!" Butch exclaimed to her.

Buttercup growled at them as they turned her to face the result of the fight between Brick and Bubbles. Buttercup's worst fears soon came to life.

Bubbles lay on the ground, naked, beaten and helpless. She had fought as hard as she could against Brick, but he had beaten her handily and now towered over her defeated body, a malevolent grin split wide across his face.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Buttercup screamed at him.

Boomer and Butch laughed at Buttercup's misery. She was about to be forced to watch something unspeakable.

Brick lowered himself onto Bubbles's body and began feeling her up. Buttercup realized with horror that he was going to _rape her_. She became more upset and enraged than she had ever been before in her life.

"You leave her the fuck alone, you _piece of shit!_ " She screamed at Brick.

Boomer and Butch continued to laugh at Buttercup. The Rowdyruff Boys were enjoying the entire experience. But Buttercup was slowly becoming more difficult to restrain.

With Buttercup screaming at him, Brick unzipped his pants and began grinding against Bubbles, despite her helpless, protesting moans for him to stop. Her fear aroused him. He raised a fist to her face, pretending he was going to hit her very hard as he was raping her, but stopping at the last minute. At this point, Bubbles began to cry and he began to grind and thrust harder into her.

Bubbles's crying made Buttercup rage even more. She could not bear the site of her crying sister, her crying lover, being raped in front of her. For once, there was no reason for her to control her emotions. Her nearly infinite and rage and hatred of the Rowdyruff Boys was now justified. Boomer and Butch fought with all their might to restrain her, but their plan to torment Bubbles and make her sister watch was growing more difficult by the second.

And then it happened, just as Brick actually hit Bubbles for the first time, Buttercup reached a new threshold of rage and vindictive hatred. All she desired now was to punish Brick for what he was doing to Bubbles. She felt herself grow more powerful. She seemed to grow dozens of times stronger all in a matter of seconds. Her eyes grew bloodshot to the point where they were almost completely red. With a primal roar of hatred that was of the deepest conviction, Buttercup burst forth from the grasp of Boomer and Butch, knocking them to the ground in the process.

All she could think about was making Brick pay for raping Bubbles. She tackled him off of her and pinned him to the ground, battering his face with punch after punch. Brick tried to fight back, but for reasons unknown to him, Buttercup had become significantly stronger.

Boomer and Butch soon came to their brother's aid, but Buttercup's punches and kicks were now powerful enough to swat them away like flies. Undeterred, all three of them attacked her at once. Buttercup shot her laser eyes at Butch, who fell to the ground in agony immediately. The laser had only hit him around the knees and thighs, but it had melted much of the flesh, including all of the skin, from his bones. Boomer was the next to reach her. He landed a punch on her, but in her new, enraged form, she barely felt it. Instead, Buttercup grabbed him immediately after the punch and found that she was able to hold him in one arm without his being able to get away. He struggled as Brick came up behind her, shooting his laser eyes at her. It barely hurt. Buttercup elbowed him in the teeth with her free arm and proceeded to incapacitate Boomer. While he had previously been of equal strength to her, his punches and kicks now felt like that of a child. She proceeded to cuff him in the stomach, such that he coughed up blood. Next, she broke his arm and dislocated his shoulder before hitting him as hard as she could in the chest and sending him falling to the Earth next to Butch with shattered ribs.

Even before she had discovered her enraged powers, Buttercup had been able to melt the flesh or break the bones of a normal human with her powers. But the Rowdyruffs were superhumans just like her, so being able to do this to them meant that she was now extraordinarily powerful even compared to those who were already extraordinarily powerful.

Now Buttercup turned her attention to Brick. In his eyes and his battered face she could see something she had never seen before in the eyes of a Rowdyruff Boy. Fear.

"What do you say we just walk away and pretend this never happened?" he asked, nervously.

"It's too late for that," Buttercup replied plainly, "You will never rape again."

With Boomer and Butch now too beaten to come to his aid, Buttercup tackled Brick to the ground once more. This time, to ensure that he would never again rape anyone, she pulled down his pants and focused her flesh-melting laser eyes on the organs that resided there. His screams of agony provided Buttercup great satisfaction. He deserved this for what he did to Bubbles.

She wasn't done yet. She still wasn't satisfied with how much she had punished Brick. The only thing she could think of doing now, was finishing him off for good. In a final fit of the most extreme anger, she crushed his skull between her bare hands.

Slowly, Buttercup stood up and made her way over to the injured Boomer and Butch. Just moments earlier, they had laughed as they aided their brother in the rape of Bubbles, but now they lay sniveling, sobbing, and helpless on the ground, not knowing what Buttercup's wrath had in store for them next.

"Listen, you two worthless pieces of shit," Buttercup spoke to them in a tone that made it clear that her goal was to intimidate, "If you _ever_ threaten to tell the world about Bubbles and I… If you _ever_ threaten me or my family, _period_ … If I ever hear _anything_ about you raping or hurting anyone again… And _especially_ if you come near Bubbles… You'll meet the same fate as your worthless brother. Do we have an understanding?"

Butch and Boomer both nodded.

"Then get out of my site before I change my mind," Buttercup said.

The two remaining Rowdyruffs somehow found the strength to pull themselves off of the ground and fly away as fast as they could. Maybe their wounds would kill them soon, maybe they would live till old age. Buttercup just wanted to make sure that whatever time they had left in life was spent living in fear. That way, they would never harm an innocent being again, she thought.

"Buttercup, are you alright?" suddenly the voice of Bubbles pulled Buttercup out of her enraged state.

"Bubbles, thank god! Are you going to be okay?" Buttercup ran over to her sister to give her a big hug.

She searched for Bubbles's clothes for a second in the tall grass of the meadow, handing them to her and urging her to get dressed.

"Buttercup, you _killed_ him," Bubbles said sadly, facing away from the horrific scene where Brick's corpse still lay.

"He tried to rape you Bubbles, what was I supposed to do?" Buttercup asked, "I love you. You're my everything. If this is what I have to do for us to stay together, then so be it."

"But Buttercup," Bubbles began, "How did they even find out we were here?"

"I think I can answer that question," a familiar, effeminate demonic voice echoed through the air.

A massive wave of anxiety overcame Buttercup as she realized that the threat Him had made was indeed very real.

"Where is he?" Bubbles whispered to her sister.

"Show yourself!" Buttercup exclaimed, looking around the meadow, the forest, and the cliff on all sides, wondering where Him could be hiding.

Suddenly, the Earth began to shake and the ocean far below the cliff began to stir. Massive waves crashed in all directions as Him rose out of the ocean in his most massive demonic form.


	7. Chapter 7

Him stared down at the girls, hoping to intimidate them, but they stood their ground. As far as Buttercup was concerned, he hadn't yet presented enough of a threat to overwhelm Bubbles and herself.

"So it was _you_ that sent those Rowdyruff scumbags here?" Buttercup glared at Him, "Well, I've dealt with them and you're next!"

"Indeed. I did send the boys over to play with you, foolish incestuous brat," Him hissed at Buttercup, "You and your whore sister have committed an _unspeakable_ taboo! For that you will pay with your lives and the world will follow!"

"Come on Buttercup, let's end this!" Bubbles stood by her sister's side, "We can take him!"

Indeed, though Him was in one of his most massive forms right now, his threat level appeared to be very casual compared to where it usually was. He hadn't conjured up any monsters, possessed anyone that they loved, or given them a perplexing riddle to solve in a short amount of time. He appeared to just be trying to straight up defeat the girls by himself, something that had never worked before.

So Bubbles and Buttercup flew directly at him with all their strength. Him used his claw to take a swipe at Bubbles but he was far too slow. She landed a strike on his side that stunned him, just as Buttercup gave him a devastating uppercut to his jaw. His attempts to fight back were futile as the girls dashed around him at speeds that he was simply incapable of keeping up with.

Eventually, Bubbles and Buttercup used their combined strength to grab one of Him's arms and swing his body around and around. They smashed it against the edge of the cliff over and over again. Him's face and body became battered and bloody, yet he laughed at the girls. His laughs became gurgles as Bubbles and Buttercup threw his body full of bruises and broken bones back into the ocean, back deep underwater.

They watched for a moment until the gurgles subsided, reasonably certain that they had beaten Him once again.

"Well, so much for that," Buttercup smiled at Bubbles, relieved.

"See, I told you there was nothing to worry about," Bubbles shared her relief. They had been through a horrible situation that day with the Rowdyruffs, but at least they had stopped Him with relatively little trouble.

Buttercup and Bubbles hovered in midair above the ocean, kissing each other on the lips as they shared a hug.

"I promise, nothing like… like what happened earlier," Buttercup paused, "I promise it'll never happen again. I swear on my life!" Buttercup was of course speaking of the rape. There was no doubt it would be causing Bubbles some trauma down the road, but it had been stopped before Brick got too far. Buttercup would see to it that Bubbles recovered fully and stayed her usual happy self. She would ensure that the love of her life would not sink into an eternal place of emotional darkness after having her body violated. Bubbles was a Powerpuff Girl and she had been through bad things before. This time would not be any different.

As Bubbles was about to respond, her voice was cut short by the sound of the Earth rumbling once more. A fully regenerated Him slowly rose out of the ocean again. Bubbles and Buttercup pulled out of their embrace to face him.

"What, do you want us to kick your ass again?" Buttercup challenged.

"Don't you stupid incestuous whores see that I will not hold back this time?" Him hissed at them, "Buttercup, your desires shall now be your undoing. Bubbles _will_ suffer before your eyes and this time you won't be able to do anything about it."

"What makes you think you'll ever be strong enough to stop us?" Bubbles asked.

"Don't you see? I can bring back the Rowdyruff Boys! Stronger than before! And this time they _will_ have their way with you Bubbles," Him snarled at her, "But your torment and their revival shall only take place once I have enslaved humanity and imprisoned you two brats and your ignorant sister, Blossom!"

"How are you going to do that?" Buttercup asked, "You've never beaten us before!"

"I have always held back on you girls, since you have always been righteous and just. By rule, I may only use my powers to the fullest extent if the heroes of this world commit an unspeakable wrong," Him explained, pausing for emphasis, "Like _incest_ , you disgusting brats!"

"What rule? Who makes these 'rules'?" Bubbles asked, she and her sister were only growing more confused. Thankfully, their foes, in their arrogance, always loved explaining their schemes.

"Universal powers of good and evil that you brats are incapable of comprehending," Him exclaimed, "Now your sins have doomed you to my wrath. Earth will forever suffer under my jurisdiction."

"We've all done wrong and made mistakes before, why are you attempting to punish us for this one?" Buttercup asked.

"Yes, you've all dealt with your demons in the past," Him began, "Lying, stealing, greed. But now you have broken one of nature's most sacred laws, tainted what is meant to be a bond most pure and sacred. The bond of siblings has been tainted by lust within those meant to uphold the image of virtue."

Bubbles and Buttercup stared at their enemy in confusion as he went on.

"But I really must digress from my very informative chat with you girls," Him taunted, "Perhaps I can tell you more after I take over this pathetic world and enslave its mortal residents. After all, by that time you'll be in prison! You'll have all the free time in the world to hear these things during the few hours of the day that you aren't being tortured!"

"Not a chance that any of that shit's happening!" Buttercup exclaimed, "You're awfully confident for someone who's lost dozens of battles to us without a single victory!"

"Well then I suppose it's time to stop playing nice and letting the little girls win," Him replied.

He slowly rose his arms up from his sides and the ocean began to stir yet again. For another time, a monstrosity rose out of the deep waters and it was the creature of Buttercup's nightmares. It was the same demonic, machine-like beast that had caught Blossom and Bubbles in its grasp over a month ago. The gigantic menacing mass of teeth, flesh, metal, and claws reared its ugly head from the depths of what one could only assume was hell.

Except this time there were hundreds of them. Maybe thousands. Buttercup couldn't count them all, but they were spread out across the entire ocean as far as the eye could see.

With a sense of disheartening dread, Bubbles and Buttercup realized that Him had only been toying with them until now. Now he was truly not holding anything back. Buttercup didn't know how she and her sister could possibly defeat an entire army of these things. It had taken everything she had just to stop one of them before. Bubbles and Buttercup should have known not to discount one of their enemies on his abilities to make things so suddenly bleak, especially Him.

Him motioned his arms to command his infernal army and they began to open their massive, gaping mouths, swallowing up the ocean in the process. Him suddenly grew even more massive in size, his voice deeper and more menacing than it had ever been before.

"Now the ocean will be drained and in its place, a portal left for my armies of darkness to enter this world," Him growled to the girls, "I dare you to stop me!"

"We'll stop you! We always find a way!" Buttercup exclaimed, although she was unsure of herself this time.

"The only way to stop the approach of my infinite armies of darkness is to end my existence, my immortal life!" Him exclaimed.

"Infinite armies? Immortal life?" Bubbles turned nervously to Buttercup, "He's bluffing right?"

"I don't want to find out," Buttercup replied, glaring at Him, "Let's kill this son of a bitch once and for all!"

Bubbles and Buttercup flew to attack Him, but he swatted them away with one of his massive claws. He was suddenly much stronger. Was it due to the sudden size increase or the presence of his armies? The girls weren't sure, so they attacked him again, but were thwarted just as easily. They knew that they had to try everything they could while they had time. Currently, his demonic machine-like beasts were busy draining the ocean and thus not engaged in combat. Bubbles and Buttercup knew they had to finish Him before his armies arrived and the ocean was drained. Him mocked their efforts the entire time.

"Don't you stupid girls get it yet? You never learn," Him taunted, "It would take more power than is contained within the Earth and all its life forms to defeat one such as myself!"

Undeterred by this boast, they attacked him from all angles with all the strategies they could think of. It was beginning to seem even more unfortunate that they did not have Blossom there at the moment to devise better strategies. Bubbles and Buttercup started to feel exhausted and beaten. Then, when they persisted to attack Him once more, he landed a particularly devastating hit on them that sent them flying back into the forest.

Satisfied that the girls were down for the count at the moment, Him turned his back to the forest and watched with malevolent joy as his machines drained the ocean of its water and the Earth of its life. Soon all of his armies would be here to enslave humanity.

Meanwhile, Bubbles and Buttercup lay bruised and injured on their backs on the forest ground. They knew they had to think of something. Him's plan was taking effect quickly and there seemed to be no way to stop him. Then, as she and Bubbles lay defeated on the forest floor, an idea came to Buttercup's mind. She remembered that Him had said only a greater power than that contained on all of Earth could kill him. However, even if the girls had a method of getting to such a power source, Him was too strong to be taken or carried off there. But Buttercup remembered how her rage had given her the power to overcome all three Rowdyruff Boys. Maybe it would give her the strength to hold her own against Him. If it worked… And it had to because nothing else would, she had thought of a way to kill Him. But that would mean…

Buttercup sat up and turned to Bubbles who was still lying on the ground, her eyes barely open.

"Bubbles listen," Buttercup began slowly.

"Yes Buttercup?"

"I'm going back out there and I have a plan," Buttercup continued to speak slowly and clearly, "But I _need_ you to stay here and stay safe and hidden."

"Buttercup, what do you mean?" Bubbles asked.

"Just promise me!" Buttercup demanded of her, "Promise me that after this you'll still be the joy and the laughter. Promise me you won't lose sight of who you are after what has happened and will happen today."

"Buttercup, are you-"

"Just promise!" Buttercup exclaimed, fighting the urge to sob. She was going to be strong. Now was absolutely not a time to cry, the world's fate was in her hands.

"Okay, I promise," Bubbles voice was shaky and sounded worried.

"You'll always be my sister and the love of my life, no matter what anyone else says or what the world thinks is right," Buttercup said, "You have my heart and my eternal love in every possible way."

Buttercup caressed Bubbles's cheek while gazing into her eyes for what could be the last time. She gave Bubbles a gentle kiss on the forehead and then the lips. Then a final embrace, an embrace where she could feel that her sister's body was weak. Buttercup knew that Bubbles could not fight any more that day.

"I love you Buttercup," Bubbles begged her sister as a solitary tear made its way down her cheek, "What are you saying?"

"I'm going to go out there and stop Him," Buttercup replied, "I just wanted to have a proper goodbye with you. I'll see you again… someday."

Buttercup stood up, her knees bloody and aching from combat and made her way out towards the ocean with her back to Bubbles.

"Buttercup, that's insane! Stop, it can't be done! We'll go home to Blossom, she'll figure a way out of this!" Bubbles exclaimed through tears of desperation as she realized what Buttercup was doing.

Buttercup forced herself to ignore the crying and begging of the love of her life behind her. She knew she had one chance and one chance only to stop this before it got out of hand and allowed Him to wreak havoc like never before.


	8. Chapter 8

Buttercup emerged from the forest and saw that Him had his back turned to her and was facing out towards the ocean. She knew he hadn't seen her there yet, so she took a minute to think. When Buttercup had become enraged at the Rowdyruff Boys earlier that day when Brick attempted to rape Bubbles, it was the situation at hand that had caused her to go into her enraged form. Would she even be able to get her powers to increase again because of her anger or was it just a onetime freak occurrence? Could she intentionally make herself angry and get her powers or would it only happen incidentally? There was no time to worry about such things.

Buttercup began to run all the things through her mind about Him that enraged her. She thought of all the threats he had made about enslaving humanity, all the times he would hurt innocent people if his plan were to succeed. But most of all, Buttercup thought about how he had sent the Rowdyruff Boys to rape Bubbles and how he had threatened to torment her even more. That alone was enough to infuriate her quite a bit and she could feel herself growing stronger.

"Him!" Buttercup yelled at her adversary, confident she was ready for this final confrontation.

Him turned his massive body to face her, an annoyed, scowling look on his face.

"I guess you girls really do never give up," He growled, "What makes you think you have a chance in hell at stopping me?"

"My undying hatred!" Buttercup exclaimed, just before flying at Him.

She attempted to position herself near the center of his chest and stomach so that she could lift him out of the ocean and off the surface of the Earth with all her strength. It didn't work the first time as Him picked her off of himself with his massive, sharp claw and threw her at the ground. He attempted to slam his claw down and crush her afterwards, but Buttercup dodged him easily. She flew towards him once more and attempted the same strategy. Again he clawed her off of himself, throwing her even harder to the ground.

Buttercup was stunned, but felt little pain as she was too concerned about defeating Him at the moment. She saw him growing impatient with his minions. They were taking quite a long to time to drain the ocean of its water. He needed them to finish this task and assist him in defeating the Powerpuff Girls, so he beckoned to them with his claws to hurry up. Buttercup saw an opportunity and flew at Him as fast as she could, with maximum rage.

She attacked his claws and face this time, moving as quickly as possible. Despite Him being far more powerful at the moment than he usually was, he was still unable to keep up with the speed of an aggressive Powerpuff Girl. Buttercup pummeled his limbs and face, disorienting him and then attempted again to lift him up from underneath his torso.

It was slow going at first, but Him was unable to get her off of himself this time and Buttercup eventually managed to lift him out of the ocean and off of the Earth. Now her plan was in motion and all she could do was hope that this would in fact kill Him once and for all and that doing so would somehow render his armies powerless once their master and controller was gone.

Bubbles was still lying on her back in the forest, convinced that Buttercup's mission to single-handedly stop Him had been suicide. She wanted to stop her sister, but felt too weak to move. Only when she saw Him's body being carried off to the sky by a green streak of light, busting a hole through the clouds did Bubbles become suddenly reenergized. Although it still hurt her somewhat to move, Bubbles forced herself to fly up through the clouds to see what Buttercup was doing.

When Bubbles flew above the clouds and high into the Earth's atmosphere, she was glimpsing out into space. She was far enough out of the Earth's lower atmosphere that the sky was black even though the sun shone brightly in the middle of it. In the remote distance, she could see a tiny streak of green making its way towards the sun. With a feeling of desperate despair, she realized what Buttercup was attempting to do.

" _Buttercup, be careful!"_ Bubbles screamed desperately at the top of her lungs, " _Don't fly directly into the sun! Come back safe!"_

Bubbles knew that Buttercup was too far away to hear her, but she continued yelling at her sister anyway, begging the love of her life to reconsider the tactic she had chosen to defeat Him. She floated far above the Earth, hoping that by some miracle Buttercup could kill Him _and_ survive.

Buttercup was flying too fast now for Him to do anything to stop her. Being dragged through space at near the speed of light had brutally mangled his body, but Buttercup knew he would regenerate if she didn't follow through with this. As she neared the suns surface, she could feel herself and Him plummeting into its intense gravity. There was no turning back by this point, as she could feel the flesh melting from her body. It was agonizing, but Buttercup knew it would not last long.

Buttercup's last moment of life was filled with a flash of unbelievably bright light, the heat of which seemed to melt her face. The last thing she ever heard was Him's voice as it screamed in anguish like it never had before. It sounded as if it was screaming in a thousand different pitches, all of which growled, hissed, gurgled, and choked in a moment of extreme pain. She felt the same pain as Him, but also a great sense of satisfaction. Her physical suffering lasted only for a moment, and Buttercup left the world feeling at peace, knowing that it and Bubbles would not be subjected to Him's wrath and tyranny.

Bubbles watched the whole thing from afar in the space just outside Earth's atmosphere. It had taken about ten minutes for the streak of green to reach the sun, after which point Bubbles waited.

Waited, hoping to see that streak of green come flying on its way back to Earth. She didn't know how long she waited. It could have been fifteen minutes or it could have been five hours. But then time stopped as Bubbles realized that the most important person in her life wasn't coming back. For a few moments, she shed tears in the silence of space, contemplating what life would look like without Buttercup. It wasn't fair, she thought to herself, they had just gotten to expressing their romantic feelings for one another. Was this fate's cruel way of telling her that incest was wrong? She didn't know and she probably never would.

After a time, Bubbles remembered that Him had summoned some of his horrible, demonic machines to drain the Earth of its oceans. She flew back to Earth, knowing that if they were still active, she would have to find some way to stop them. Fortunately, she saw that the demonic beast-like machines, though still terrifying, sat motionless and decaying. They slowly disintegrated into black ash, which in turn eventually faded into nothing. Bubbles reckoned that they would be gone from existence entirely within a matter of hours.

There was nothing left to do now but return home to Blossom. Bubbles told her everything, including how she and Buttercup had had romantic feelings for each other and expressed said feelings accordingly, how the Rowdyruff Boys had found them and attempted to violate her as Buttercup watched, and how the resulting rage had led Buttercup to kill Brick. But worst of all, she had to relive the dire battle with Him, explaining to Blossom how Buttercup had sacrificed her life and the potential happiness she and Bubbles could have had together to save the world, as well as her sisters, who had been promised a particularly gruesome fate, from Him's torment.

Blossom was in the purest, most confused state of disbelief regarding how so many things of this nature and of such magnitude could have gone on behind her back. This resulted in her holding a grudge of many intense emotions for many years against Bubbles for what had transpired. Blossom had known her sisters were too close, even for siblings, and now that was the reason, or at least part of the reason, that she would never see one of them again. To say that Blossom was disappointed, angry, and upset with Bubbles and Buttercup would be an understatement as large as the threat Him had posed. But she was also mad at herself for not having done anything about it until it was too late.

…

As years passed by, Blossom and Bubbles's relationship never fully seemed to mend, but Bubbles was still grateful that her sister loved her and would still do anything for her. There were still villains to fight and losing Buttercup had made that more difficult. At least she had somewhat lightened the load of their enemies as they never heard from Him or the Rowdyruff Boys again. The most threatening rival of the girls that remained was now Mojo Jojo, who had put the girls through a number of close calls over the years, especially after Buttercup's death. Fortunately, Blossom and Bubbles could still stop him even when the going got tough.

The hardest thing for Bubbles, obviously, was not being able to spend time with the person she loved most anymore. She missed having long talks with Buttercup, she missed going out with her, missed all the little romantic gestures that Buttercup had made. She wished she would have seen it sooner. Bubbles wished she had fallen romantically in love with Buttercup sooner so that they could have shared more kisses, cuddled and fallen asleep together at night many more times, and made love more than once, no matter how taboo it was for the two of them to do so. But at least the secret of their forbidden love would forever remain unknown to the world. Blossom would never tell and she and Bubbles were the only ones alive that knew.

And on some nights, when the sky was clear and she wished Buttercup were by her side, Bubbles would look out her window and see what appeared to be a faint green star, glimmering in the night. While she knew it made absolutely no scientific sense, Bubbles liked to think that the star was somehow made from Buttercup and that her sister and lover was watching down on her from the stars. After all, it was this belief that allowed Bubbles to overcome everything she had been through and keep the promise she had made to Buttercup to still be the joy and the laughter.

 **Author's Note: I will admit that this story didn't turn out quite the same as the original vision I'd had for it, but it still has some moments. It's also by far the longest story I've ever written and I'm proud that I saw it through to the end. No promises, but there could be a sequel that explores Blossom and Bubbles mending their relationship. It would also explore Blossom's feelings a lot deeper than this story did. It's more likely to happen if anyone actually wants it, but even so I still** ** _can't promise that it will happen_** **. Thanks a bunch for reading!**


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